Cooler



A. NOVOTNY June 12, 1934.

COOLER Filed Nov. 5

ATTORNEY Patented June 12, 1934 UNITED STATES COOLER Anton Novotny, Detroit, Mich., assignor to Detroit Gray Iron Foundry Company, Detroit, Mich., a corporation of Michigan Application November 25, 1933, Serial No. 699,747

Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in coolers, and refers more particularly to light and inexpensive coolers intended to receive a portable beverage dispenser so. as to cool the 5 contents of the latter prior to its discharge.

The invention aims, among other things, to provide a cheap and simple form of cooler consisting of a vessel having a base and outwardly and upwardly sloping sides so that when the dispenser is placed therein and ice is packed around it in the cooler the sloping sides of the latter tend to retain the ice as it melts in contact with the dispenser; wherein the upper margin of the cooler, the height of which is less than that of "the dispenser, is flanged to support a perforated annular tray which is freely insertable over the dispenser, and which is adapted to support glasses or other containers so that liquid spilled from the latter will drop through the perforations into the lower portion of the cooler; and wherein one side of the cooler and tray project further laterally from'the dispenser to furnish a wider bearing surface upon the tray for a number of the glasses, and the dispenser is intended to be so placed in the cooler that its discharge spout is located above this wider bearing surface.

With these and other objects in View which will become apparent as the specification proceeds, the invention is hereinafter more fully described with the aid of the accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure 1 illustrates a vertical section of one embodiment of the invention with a beverage dispenser therein.

Figure 2 is a plan view of the invention.

Referring to the drawing, my cooler consists of an open vessel having a base 1 from the periphery of which an outwardly and upwardly inclined annular wall 2 extends. At its upper extremity the wall is horizontally outwardly flared to form an annular flange 3, and around the outer margin of the latter an upwardly extending ring 4 is formed, in the present instance by rolling the outer margin of the flange first upwardly and outwardly and then downwardly and inwardly as shown at 4a.

One side of the vessel has a lateral projection 5 the sides 5a of which are also upwardly and outwardly inclined; and around the upper extremity of the sides 5a a flanged portion 3a is provided which forms a continuation of the flange 3. In practice I prefer to make the entire vessel of a single piece of material.

' 6 denotes an annular tray the inner periphery of which is so shaped as to permit free passage of a beverage dispenser 10 therethrough, as the latter is intended to rest upon the base 1 and to be freely removable. The dispenser is preferably centrally positioned upon the said base. The tray 6, which is suitably perforated as shown at 6a, rests upon the flange 3 and has its outer periphery upwardly flared to form a ledge which rests adjacent the inner face of the ring 4. 6b is a lateral projection formed integral with the 051i tray 6 and its marginal portions rest upon the flange portions 3a.

After the dispenser 10 has been placed upon the base 1 with its discharge spout 11 extending over the outwardly projecting vessel portion 5, ice indicated at A is packed between the sides of the dispenser and the wall 2. The latter, due to its inclination tends to hold the ice as it melts in contact with the dispenser sides; The tray 6 is then placed in position. The width of the tray is such that it will support a glass or other container anywhere around the dispenser, while immediately beneath the discharge spout 11 additional tray width is provided by the tray projection 6b to accommodate a num- 61 ber of glasses, one of which is shown at 12. The perforations 6a permit spillage from the glasses or spout to drop into the vessel.

When desired the cooler may also be provided with an outer casing 7 spaced beneath the base 353i. 1 and exteriorly of the wall 2. The upper annular margin of this casing is welded to the underside of the flange 3 and of the vessel projection 5. Thus an insulating space 8 is provided around the vessel to protect the ice therein from ex- 96 ternal thermal conditions.

Since the cooler is of light construction and is intended to have a relatively heavy dispenser lifted into and from it from time to time, it is desirable to so construct the base that it will remain stationary under normal conditions. I therefore provide cylindrical feet 20 made of rubber or other resilient material, and recessed at their upper extremities to receive nuts 21 welded to the underside of the casing 7. The 1007. latter is preferably perforated at 22 for the passage of screws which engage these nuts. Through vertical openings 23 formed through the feet 20 screws 24 are inserted which engage the nuts 21. The screws have enlarged, and 5;. preferably countersunk, heads so that when the screws are tightened they cause the undersides of the feet to become concave, thereby forming vacuum cups which hold the cooler satisfactorily against accidental movement. 11'0 While in the foregoing the preferred embodiment of the invention has been described and shown, it is understood that the construction is susceptible to such modifications as fall within the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. A cooler consisting of a unitary vessel having a base and an upwardly and outwardly inclined enclosing wall, one side of the vessel having a lateral projection so that the enclosing wall is of irregular form, an outwardly disposed annular fiange formed around the upper extremity of the Wall, a raised ring around the outer margin of the flange, an annular perforated tray formed so that its outer periphery rests upon the flange, the ring holding the tray against lateral movement on the flange, the inner periphery of the tray being so shaped as to permit: free passage of a removable dispenser therethrough, the latter resting upon the base with its discharge spout extending over the lateral projection, the walls being adapted to hold a cooling medium in contact with the dispenser sides, and the tray being adapted to support containers so that spillage from them or from the discharge spout drops through the perforations.

2. A cooler consisting of a unitary vessel having a base adapted to support a beverage dispenser and an upwardly and outwardly inclined enclosing wall adapted to retain a cooling medium in the vessel in contact with the sides of the dispenser, the enclosing wall being irregular so that a laterally outward projection is en- ,closed' on one side of the vessel above which the discharge spout of the container is adapted to extend, an annular flange extending outwardly from the upper margin of the wall, a raised ring around the outer edge of the flange, an annular perforated tray supported on said flange and held against lateral movement thereon by the ring, said dispenser being freely slidable through the inner periphery of the tray so that it may be readily removed, the tray being adapted to support liquid containers so that spillage therefrom or from the discharge spout drops through the perforations into the vessel, and a casing spaced beneath the base and exteriorly of the enclosing'wall, the upper annular margin of the casing being secured to the underside of the vessel, and feet so formed as to hold the cooler against accidental movement particularly during the insertion or removal of the dispenser.

3. A cooler consisting of a vessel having a base and an upwardly projecting enclosing wall, one side of the wall having a lateral projection so that said wall is of irregular shape, the base being adapted to support a dispenser having a laterally disposed outlet above the laterally projecting Wall portion, the periphery of the dispenser being spaced from the enclosing wall so that a cooling medium may be inserted between them, an annular perforated tray around the dispenser supported by the enclosing wall, a lateral offset portion carried by the tray and having its margin supported by the lateral projection of the enclosing wall, the tray being adapted to support drinking vessels entirely about the container, and an upward flange around the margin of the tray and the laterally offset portion to prevent liquid thereon running down the outside of the vessel so that spillage from the drinking vessels and the dispenser outlet drops through the perforated tray into the vessel.

4. A cooler consisting of a vessel having a base and an upwardly and outwardly'inclined enclosing wall, one side of the wall having a lateral projection so that said wall is of irregular shape, the laterally projecting wall portion being upwardly and outwardly inclined at a greater angle than the remaining portion of the enclosing Wall, the base being adapted to support a dispenser having a laterally disposed out-,

let above the laterally projecting wall portion,

the periphery of the dispenser being spaced from the enclosing wall so that a cooling medium inserted between them tends to fall towards the dispenser as it melts, an annular perforated tray around the dispenser supported by the enclosing wall, a lateral offset portion carriedby the tray and having its margin supported by the lateral projection of the enclosing wall, the tray. being adapted to support drinking vessels entirely about the container, and an upward flange around the margin of the tray, and the lateral 

